here goes

[self_composed]

Bella schedules an appointment at Stanford. She breezes through sixteen hours of motorcycle class, mostly by demonstrating that the instructor is redundant and wouldn't he rather teach her exotic motorcycle tricks and then just mark her as passing the course? She plays in a soccer game against a Port Angeles high school and wins. She starts driving her bike to school, and she names it Tegu after a lizard of similar coloring, because it needed a name.

On Friday evening she's due to fly out, crash in a Stanford grad student's house overnight, interview on Saturday, and fly home that evening. She bikes for the airport, black leather gold-studded saddlebags over Tegu's back wheel carrying her luggage.

Comments

[self_composed]

[Behave,] is all Bella tells him as she holds the front door of the building open for an extra second to let him brush past.

She finds the room number, checks the time on her phone, and sits down to wait the remaining two minutes to spare.

[edgeofyourseat]

Invisible Alice tucks himself quietly into an out-of-the-way corner.

[self_composed]

Bella's interviewer opens the door when Bella knocks, but says, "I'm running just a few minutes late, I'll be with you in a moment."

"That's fine," Bella says.

A few minutes later the interviewer reemerges. "Come in," he says.

[edgeofyourseat]

Is there room for Alice in there? He is inclined to find out!

[self_composed]

The office is full of books, but it is not incapable of holding three people. [Don't sit in the extra chair,] Bella says, [you'll indent it funny.]

[edgeofyourseat]

[Wasn't gonna,] he says cheerfully, and sits on the floor next to Bella's chair.

[self_composed]

The interviewer starts asking Bella about soccer (yes, she would be thrilled to join the Stanford team; she's currently playing forward but she would be content in any position where she seemed suited) and flute (yes, she would be thrilled to participate in orchestra; she has little performing experience but isn't generally prone to stage fright, and she's certainly good enough at flute, would he like to hear (he wouldn't)) and academics (she wants to keep her options open, but she is interested in the sciences, and maybe politics, and she can already program but would like to learn more languages and get more developing experience) and other semirandom questions presumably intended to determine her fit into the school culture.

Bella handles the interview very well.

She pentagoned interviewing skills first thing in the morning.

[edgeofyourseat]

Alice sits very quietly the whole time, gazing adoringly up at Bella. She is just so great, okay? Okay.

[self_composed]

"So you want to start in the fall - without finishing high school?" the interviewer finally asks.

"If I can," Bella says earnestly. "I like Forks, but it's small - there's not a lot of resources there. I can only do so much without a lot of other people - world-class people - to learn from. Besides, I don't feel really challenged by high school work. I do it, but I'd rather be stretching myself more."

"Mm," says the interviewer. "All right, Bella, we'll get back to you in a few weeks."

"Thanks for your time," she says politely, and she gets up.

[edgeofyourseat]

Alice, naturally, follows.

[self_composed]

[Now I have an hour to wander around looking at stuff and grab lunch,] Bella says, [and then I'm supposed to meet the soccer coach real quick because I don't have enough of a game record to substantiate my claims of fantastic talent, and then I audition for the orchestra conductor.] She hefts her bag, which contains her flute, and swings it onto her back.

[edgeofyourseat]

[Fun,] says Alice. [So, you think you'll get in?]

He thinks she'll get in.

[self_composed]

[Maybe. They're paying me lots of attention, so they at least think I'm in, but there could be bad luck, or a necessary recommender who takes a dislike to me, or a dozen more ridiculously qualified people who play basketball and violin and also spent two years working with tsunami victims or something.]

[edgeofyourseat]

It's kind of a ridiculous system, when he thinks about it.

[self_composed]

[Hmm?] She's admiring buildings, and the nice weather. [Ridiculous how?]

[edgeofyourseat]

[I dunno, the whole getting-into-college process? Like, what does working with tsunami victims have to do with it?]

[self_composed]

[So if you were running a school and ten thousand people applied and you could only take two thousand, which ones would you take?]

[edgeofyourseat]

[I wouldn't run a fucking school,] says Alice. [And if I did, I'd pick people for terrible reasons. But we scrounge up enough high schools for everybody somehow; why not enough colleges? There's even less people!]

[self_composed]

[Well, yes,] Bella says. [I assure you that if I went to a tiny, terrible community college in Port Angeles, all I would have to demonstrate would be basic literacy. Maybe they'd want to make sure I could add. The good schools are good because they're selective - people want to go there so they can get the best teachers, and fraternize with the best classmates. There aren't enough bests to go around for everyone.]

[edgeofyourseat]

[I still think it's weird,] Alice maintains. He doesn't have a solution, but he doesn't see why that should stop him.

[self_composed]

Bella snorts quietly. [Well, that's the system, so I'm gaming it.] There's a dining hall over there; she decides to see if they'll feed her or if she has to be a student.

[edgeofyourseat]

Alice tags along. When it occurs to him that any food he conjures will get a free ride on his invisibility as long as he doesn't drop it, he spends a square on a turkey sandwich.

[self_composed]

Bella pays for a one-meal pass to the dining hall and tastes small dollops of various offerings from the buffets. [Well. Nothing phenomenal here. The macaroni and the lemon pie is okay though.]

[edgeofyourseat]

[Meh,] says Alice. [I'll stick with my invisible lunch.]

[self_composed]

[Enjoy,] Bella says lightly. [Man, the weather is nice here. It's like I've time-traveled to a land in which it is already spring.]